Spinning toy launcher



Aprifi 19, 1966 J. E. GREGORY SPINNING TOY LAUNCHER 2 Sheets-Shet 1Filed April 11, 1963 INVENTOR.

April 19, 1966 J. E. GREGORY SPINNING TOY LAUNCHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed April 11, 1963 INVENTR. M BY M w flfrfi/ ll/fyj United StatesPatent 3,246,424 SPINNING TOY LAUNCHER Joseph E. Gregory, 7640 SW. 61stAve., South Miami 43, Fla. Filed Apr. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 272,296 4Claims. (CI. 4659) This invention relates to toys and it is directed inparticular to a launcher for imparting a rapid spinning motion to toyssuch as flying rotors.

One of the objectives of the invention has been to provide a launcherthat has greater play value than those provided in the past. Unlike thelaunchers of the prior art which were adapted to be used with a singlespinning toy, the launcher of. this invention can be used with a numberof them. For example, three or more flying rotors, or helicopters, canbe placed on the launcher at the same time, and launched, oneimmediately after the other, so fast that the third one takes off whilethe first is still' rising in the air. The same launcher can be used toimpart a spinning motion to various types of rolling toys. Tops can bespun either on the launcher or they may be. ejected from it to spin onthe floor. Some of these toys may be used indoors as well as outdoors,which further enhances the play value of the launcher.

Another objective has been to provide a spinning toy launcher that.automatically rewinds itself between launchings. Rewinding devices havebeen known in the past. A typical" launcher of the prior artincorporates a spindle upon which a pull-cord is wound. When the cord ispulled, the spindle is rotated and its motion is transmitted to the.toy. to be launched. As the cord is pulled, the rotation of the spindlewinds up a rubber band and, after launching, the wound-up rub-ber banddrives the spindle in. the opposite direction to rewind the pull-cord.However, the rubber band usually breaks after comparatively little useand since it is a special kind and sealed within the handle of the toy,the launcher becomes useless. Bycontrast, inertia is relied upon forrewinding in the launcher in this invention and as a result it has along life even in the hands of a young child.

The essential element in the launcher of this invention is similar to apopular toyknown as a Yo-Yo. This toy comprises two circular discs thatare spaced apart slightly and joined by a dowel pm which passes throughtheir central axe s. One end of a string is tied to the dowel pin andthe -string then wound around the dowel pin a number of times. The looseend of the spring is looped around a persons finger. When the toy isreleased, it falls and the string unwinds, causing the toy to spin. Whenthe string unwinds completely, the inertia of the spinning discs causesthe string to rewind upon the dowel in the opposite direction. Bymanipulating the toy with skillful jerking motions, it can be keptmoving. However, as incorporated in the launcher of this invention verylittle skill is required to keep the Yo-Yo-likeelement in motion.

Thus, a futher objective of the invention has been to provide a launcherof the type set forth, that is simple to operate, requiring littleskill, so that it may be enjoyed by young children who are as yet notwell coordinated.

In the launcher of this invention, the Yo-Yo-like element has a borethrough the central axis of the equivalent of the dowel pin ina Yo-Yotoy. This bore receives anelongated pin that projects from a handle upthrough the Yo-Yo like element and beyond it so that with the handlevertical, the discs and the slot between them are horizontal. Thus, whenthe string is pulled sharply away from the toy, the Yo-Yo-like elementspins on the elongated pin and rewinding of the spring takes place justas in. an actual Yo-Yo toy as the result of inertia. However, since theelement does not have to lift its own weight when rewinding, as does anactual Yo-Yo, none of the skill necessary for the successful operationof an actual Yo-Yo is required. Toys to be spun are placed on theelongated pin above the Yo-Yolike element and they are engaged by adrive pin projecting from the upper discs adjacent to its rim andparalleling the elongated center pin. Therefore, as the element rotates,its motion is transmitted to the toys to be spun.

Another objective of the invention has been to provide a toy launcher ofthe type to which reference has been made in which a self-aligningguide-eye is provided for the pull-cord. The purpose of this guide-eyeis to insure that the pull-cord is aligned properly with the slotbetween the discs and does not rub upon either disc dur-- ing theoperation of the toy, which makes it easier for a small child to operateit. The self-aligning feature enables the operator to begin operatingthe toy by simply pulling upon the cord regardless of the position ofthe guide-eye around the circumference of the discs at the time. Whenthe cord is pulled, the eye automatically swings around into alignmentwith the cord.

A further objective has been to provide spinning toys of various typesfor use with the launcher.

Other features of the toy and objectives of the invention will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription of the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded view of the launcher and three flying rotors orhelicopters.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the launcher with one or more rotors orhelicopters in position thereon.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 3, illustratingthe self aligning pull cord guideeye.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the spinning andlaunching mechanism illustrating a modified form of a pull cordguide-eye.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view showing the modified guide-eye taken online 66 of FIGURE 5.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGURES 1 through 4,the toy of this invention comprises generally a handle portion 20, aspinning or launching means 21 that is rotatably mounted on a spindle 22carried by the handle 20, and a plurality of flying rotors orhelicopters 23. The handle 20' can be made of wood or a suitableplastic. A wooden handle would preferably be of solid one piececonstruction while a plastic handle could be solid or, as illustrated inFIGURE 3, a hollow two piece construction as designated by the numerals24 and 2.5. A vertical bore 26 is provided centrally in the upperportion of the handle 20 to receive the lower end 27 of the spindle 22.

The spinning or launching means 21 is generally similar to the toy knowncommercially as a Yo-Yo toy withthe exception of a central bore 23 thatis designed to receive spindle 22 and a drive pin 30 that is embedded inthe upper face of the toy to project upwardly therefrom parallel to thespindle. For the sake of brevity, this part will hereinafter be referredto as the Yo-Yo. The upper end 31 of the spindle 22 is adapted toloosely traverse the bore 28 of the Yo-Yo and to extend a considerabledistance above it. In its operating position, as illustrated in FIGURE1, the handle and spindle are generally vertical.

A pull-cord 32 is provided for the Yo-Yo which may be secured theretoadjacent a central sleeve pin 33 by threading the pull-cord 32 through asmall bore 34. in the upper half 35 of the Yo-Yo. The outer end of thecord may be knotted and adapted to reside in an enlarged cavity 37 atthe outer end of the bore 34.

The actual construction of the Yo-Yo depends to some extent on thematerial from which it is made. If constructed of a suitable plastic itis preferably composed of two parts, as shown, the upper disc 35 beingmade in tegral with the center sleeve pin 33, pin 33 being received in acentral bore 38 provided in the lower disc 40. The sleeve pin 33 isrigidly fixed in the bore 38 by means of a suitable solvent. In a Yo-Yoconstructed of wood the central sleeve pin 33 may be in the form of aseparate piece as indicated by the dot-dash lines 41 in FIG- URE 5. Thetwo Yo-Yo discs 35 and 40 would be joined by the separate sleeve pin 41by means of a suitable glue in the conventional manner. The size andweight of the Yo-Yo is important only to the extent that sufiicientweight be provided to permit the inertia to rewind the pull-cord aftereach outward pull on same.

A pull string guide-eye 42 is provided closely adjacent to an annularslot 43 provided by the adjacent faces 44 and 45 of the Yo-Yo discs 35and 40. The pull-cord 32 is wound about the sleeve pin 33 traversing theannular slot 43 and passing outwardly through the guide-eye 42 and beingprovided with a loop or finger grip 46 at its outer end. The guide-eye42 provides a generally L- shaped leg portion 47 extending downwardlyand inwardly toward the upper end of the handle 20 and terminating in asnap ring portion 48 (FIGURE 4) adapted to loosely engage an annulargroove 50 on the handle 20. This guide-eye is preferably made of springsteel wire to enable the eye to retain its spaced relationship with theouter periphery of the Yo-Yo. The loose fit of the snap ring 48 in theannular groove 50 enables the guide-eye 42 to be positively aligned withthe pull-cord 32 regardless of the direction of pull.

In FIGURES and 6 a modified form of guide-eye is provided which ispreferably constructed of thin spring steel. A hub portion 51 looselyembraces the spindle 22 and is provided with an upstanding bearing boss52 for the YO-YO. An L-shaped portion 53 carries a guideeye 54 inposition adjacent the annular slot 43 that is adapted to be traversed bythe pull-cord 32.

The rotors or helicopters 23 illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 havecenter hubs 55 provided with central bores 56 adapted to be looselytraversed by the upper end 31 of the spindle 22. In FIGURES l and 3 thepropeller blades 57 of the top and bottom helicopters are of aconventional forward pitch while the propeller blades 58 of theintermediate helicopter 23 are of a reverse pitch. The outer ends of thepropeller blades on both types of helicopters are joined by a peripheralsafety ring 60.

When the pull-cord is operated to spin the Yo-Yo counter-clockwisely,the drive pin 30 engages one propeller blade on each helicopter andimparts a corresponding spin thereto which causes the top helicopter tobecome disengaged from the launcher and soar upwardly. The other twohelicopters 23 remain seated on the launcher 21 until the pull-cord 32is rewound clock-wisely by the inertia of the spinning launcher 21 andtwo remaining helicopters 23. The subsequent operation of the pull-cordcauses the second or reverse pitch helicopter to soar upwardly with thebottom helicopter remaining in place on the launcher 21 until thepull-cord is operated a third time. It is not intended to limit theoperation of the launching means 21 to three helicopters as illustratedand described because the launching means can obviously be used tolaunch a single helicopter as well as two, three, four or more withinpractical limits. The helicopters can be launched singly in rapidsuccession regardless of the number placed on the launcher as long asthe forward and reverse pitch helicopters are alternated. As each flyingrotor or helicopter is preferably molded as a single unit of a flexibleplastic such as polyethylene, separate and distinct colors can be usedto enable the operator to readily differentiate between the forward andreverse pitch copters simply remains in place until the next operationof the pull-cord when the launching sequence will then begin.

It is preferable to have the width of the annular slot 43 just slightlyWider than the thickness of the pull-cord 32 so that the pull-cord iscoiled upon itself in convolutions and does not have turns which areside by side in the annular slot 43. While the toy is readily operablewith a wider slot 43, this single convolution construction provides anideal condition in which the maximum ease of operation exists at thebeginning of the pull-cordoperation due to the greater circumference ofthe convolutions. As the pull-cord is withdrawn from the Yo-Yo theconvolutions get progressively smaller increasing the speed to a maximumat the end of the pull-cord operation.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A toy comprising in combination a launcher and at least two flyingrotors, said launcher comprising a handle, an elongated pin projectingupwardly from said handle, a pair of superposed discs, means joiningsaid discs at their centers to provide an annular slot between them, apull-cord having one end afiixed adjacent to the centers of the discsand found volutely in said slot with the second end projecting from saidslot, there being a bore through the central axes of said discs and saidmeans joining them, said pin projecting through said bore to rotatablymount said discs on said handle such that repeated in and outmanipulation of the pull-cord spins said discs first in one direction ofrotation and then in the other, each rotor comprising a hub having acentral bore therethrough and a plurality of propeller blades extendingradially from said hub, the pitch of the blades of one rotor beingreversed with respect to the blades of the other rotor, said rotorsadapted to be mounted one above the other on said discs with saidelongated pin passing loosely through the bores in their hubs, and drivemeans on the upper disc engageable with blades of both rotors to impartthe spinning motion of the discs to said rotors, whereby one rotor flysfrom the elongated pin as the discs are spun in one direction and thesecond rotor flys from the elongated pin as the discs are spun in theopposite direction.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which a guide eye isprovided through which said pull-cord passes, and means rotatablymounting said guide eye on said handle for movement around said discs ina circular path in which said guide eye remains aligned with and closelyadjacent to said annular slot to prevent said pull-cord 1from rubbing onsaid discs as said pull-cord is manipuated.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which the outer ends ofthe propeller blades of each rotor are joined by a circular hoop.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in 'which three rotors areprovided with the blades of one of the three being reversed in pitchwith respect to the blades of the other two.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,775,756 9/ 1930Frohwerk 46-83 2,039,609 5/ 1936 Savich 46-59 2,242,770 5/ 1941 Ayres46-83 2,957,271 10/ 1960 Heywood 46-59 X DELBERT B. LOWE, PrimaryExaminer.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Examiner.

1. A TOY COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A LAUNCHER AND AT LEAST TWO FLYINGROTORS, SAID LAUNCHER COMPRISING A HANDLE, AN ELONGATED PIN PROJECTINGUPWARDLY FROM SAID HANDLE, A PAIR OF SUPERPOSED DISCS, MEANS JOININGSAID DISCS AT THEIR CENTERS TO PROVIDE AN ANNULAR SLOT BETWEEN THEM, APULL-CORD HAVING ONE END AFFIXED ADJACENT TO THE CENTERS OF THE DISCSAND FOUND VOLUTELY IN SAID SLOT WITH THE SECOND END PROJECTING FROM SAIDSLOT, THERE BEING A BORE THROUGH THE CENTRAL AXES OF SAID DISCS AND SAIDMEANS JOINING THEM, SAID PIN PROJECTING THROUGH SAID BORE TO ROTATABLYMOUNT SAID DISCS ON SAID HANDLE SUCH THAT REPEATED IN AND OUTMANIPULATION OF THE PULL-CORD SPINS SAID DISCS FIRST IN ONE DIRECTION OFROTATION AND THEN IN THE OTHER, EACH ROTOR COMPRISING A HUB HAVING ACENTRAL BORE THERETHROUGH AND